Zeres Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 (JimR) Well in my opinion that "16 air unit strategy" is beyond gamey it's not even fun or realistic. It's basically taking advantage of a game mechanics issue that needs to be resolved. what I'm saying is if a player uses that strategy there is no defence against it. But as far as facing the computer "Air power". Hell, invest in some anti-aircraft. I find the best way to exploit the research system in this game is to spread out your points. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Many times I've found that a catagory with one or two points in it ends up teching up faster than one with 4 or 5. It's almost as if spreading out your tech help you gain tech faster in general. Then you decide what to focus on. My strategies are largely based on what techs I got lucky in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 Originally posted by Zeres: (JimR) ... invest in some anti-aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 Oops, this message was supposed to go under the Zeres quote about anti-aircraft. My understanding is that the anti-aircraft tech only assists the defense of cities and ports. Units in the field do not benefit from advances in anti-aircraft tech. Is my understanding correct? If units in the field do not benefit from advances in anti-aircraft tech, does the anti-tank tech (or the tank tech for armored units) help them better to withstand aerial bombardments? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
82ndReady Posted November 1, 2002 Author Share Posted November 1, 2002 Out of all of the responses I have read in this thread this is what I think would make for a good Russian defense plan mixed with a little experience: Put up a light to modest defense around the first line of cities in the west. (This will only slow but not stop any good German player!) Drop all of your tanks and planes back to Moscow or the Finnish border which then you can then use them in taking Finland, maybe(does not always happen)! Build up Anti-Tank levels to Tech 2 if you can spare the MPP's. Put every MPP you can into Corp Infantry or Army infantry(my experience is to stick with Corp construction, in the open there cheap and die fast, stick Armies into cities fast this will build up there entrenchment levels!)if you can afford it. This will slow down and protect mother Russia till the US can get in and create a 2nd front, when that happens it's all downhill from there for the Germans. Not to say that it will be a walk in the park, you still have to play well to beat any competent German player and there are quite a few out there believe me! Decide where and when to make your stand (usually happens in front of Moscow and Stalingrad, funny how that happens!)with your infantry, best to do this when you think the Gemrans are over extending themselfs and out of sync with there Generals and Air Power(keep your eyes peeled for this, because this will happen even to the best of German players!). Use cities as hinge pins and build out from there with infantry in straight lines from city to city. Use marsh and woods to your advantage. No matter what you do, the Germans will always gain exp, but, so will you in the end. My experience is sometimes its not how you played in Russia thats the problem, but that it may have started earlier in the game, as it has happened to me in past games! I want to thank everyone who has answered this thread and I hope that it has helped newbies understand that there are many different ways to defend Russia depending on, and always will depend on your Opponents skill level! - Heith - Allies forever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeres Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 (JimR) My understanding is that the anti-aircraft tech only assists the defense of cities and ports. Units in the field do not benefit from advances in anti-aircraft tech. Is my understanding correct? ------------------------------------------- It was my understanding that anti-aircraft tech benifits every unit in the game! SC GODS!!! Answer this question definatively for us. Does anti-aircraft tech benefit only cities and ports? I thought it helped all units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 Originally posted by Zeres: [sC GODS!!! Answer this question definatively for us. Does anti-aircraft tech benefit only cities and ports? I thought it helped all units.[/QB]Yoo hoo, SC gods! While ducking the latest overwhelming Axis air attack, the poor Soviets are waiting to know if AA tech will benefit their units in the field.... :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaMonkey Posted November 1, 2002 Share Posted November 1, 2002 I won't lay claim to "SC Gods" but AA tech advances do not assist field units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeres Posted November 2, 2002 Share Posted November 2, 2002 Well now I know. And knowing is half the battle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted November 2, 2002 Share Posted November 2, 2002 Still, do anti-tank advances (or armored advances) improve a unit's air defense capability? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Bensing Posted November 3, 2002 Share Posted November 3, 2002 Originally posted by JimR: Still, do anti-tank advances (or armored advances) improve a unit's air defense capability?Slightly. The advances allow you to build higher-strength units; i.e., L3 anti-tank means you can build infantry units up to strength 13. This helps against air in two ways. First, strength is one of the factors in the combat formulas; all other things being equal, a higher-strength unit will inflict greater damage, and take less damage, than a lower-strenth unit. (Experience is a much greater factor than strength, however, as is readiness, supply, and HQ.) Secondly, a higher-strength can obviously afford to lose more points than a lower-strength: it's going to be more difficult for the Germans to bomb your corps into oblivion if they're 13's instead of 10's. But each unit has an air defense strength, and that does not change during the game, regardless of advances in tech; a tank at L5 will have the same air defense strength as a tank at L0. One other intesting thing of note. Armor advances increase soft attack defense, but not offense. Which means your tanks are more effective in defending against infantry attacks, but are no more effective in attacking infantry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ev Posted November 4, 2002 Share Posted November 4, 2002 The AI seems to use a cluster defense. I have played Axis at Expert +0 and Intermediate +1. I defeated the AI. But, I see the merits of a cluster defense. The cluster defense has a main advantage. If the clusters are large enough, the Germans need a lot of units to contain a single pocket. A German player that invested heavily in research won't have enough units in 1941 to surround large clusters. And if you do not have enough units, the Russians can end up surrounding the Germans. Once the Axis get enough units on the board, a cluster defense becomes a lot more dificult for the Russians to execute. The Russians must be ready to counter attack the Axis attacker as soon as it surrounds a cluster. This is when the Axis is most exposed. I have very little experience yet playing the Russian, but from my experience on the other side of the board, this is what I think you need to make a cluster defense work. You need to build 2 counter attacking forces, each with at least 3 tank group and an HQ. One counter attacking force should be north west of Moscow, and one should be north west of Rostov. If I have any airfleets, I would keep them next to my HQ and use them mainly for spotting and attacking Axis HQs. HQs are expensive to reinforce, and they dont hit your planes back (though you will still suffer losses from interceptors). Also, make your clusters big. You must force the Axis to stretch his line when surrounding your clusters, else your counter attacking units will not have chance. Your clusters can include more than one city. A cluster that holds Smolensk and Kiev is a huge bite for any Axis player. Remember the Finns. An aggressive advance against the Finns is a headache for the Axis Player. Use your Navy, 1 army, 2 corps and an HQ, and the Finns will suffer. Your main problem will be the German Navy. Some air power will keep the German boats away as long as the Minsk and Riga clusters hold the Luftwaffe our of reach. If the Germans transfer AirFleets and other German units to Finnland. go into defense mode. The resources the Germans have committed to Finnland will make it much easier for you to hold the front elsewhere. When playing Axis, I often end up splitting Russia in two, driving through Odessa, Rostov and Stalingrad. Once I cut off the Caucassus from Moscow. I start picking the oilfields with my tanks while my infantry moves in to take the southern cities. Rostov is key. I dare say Rostov is the decisive battle of the Russian Campaign. It is more important than Moscow, since the capital can be moved elsewhere. The Urals are very far away and hard to take if properly defended. Stalingrad won't fall if Rostov holds. (Hubbert should consider telling the AI to take better care of Rostov. The AI does not defend the Crimea, this makes it too easy to outflank Rostov.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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